When The Dead Rise
by DareDreamer
Summary: After waking up in a world where the reign of mankind is over, a young man named Sam must find a way to adapt and survive in a world that is ruled by the dead. His only hope? A military force composed of some of the last humans on the planet and sentient, intelligent plant life.
1. Fall Of Mankind

I didn't know it yet, but the world was about to end.

It was May 5, 2009. I was living like any other citizen in the town of Suburbia. I had heard rumors that a new form of plant life had evolved. I didn't believe it, of course, but I had no idea they would come in handy.

When I heard that scream, everything changed.

I didn't see who was screaming, but I realized someone was in trouble. I rushed over to a park, where I saw three people running away from something. No, _someone_ , because I heard a voice. A bone-chilling voice, one that would send shivers down your spine. A single word came out in a low moan. _"Brrraaiiiinnnsss…"_

That was all I could hear before I heard brakes squeal and saw a car swerving towards me. Then I blacked out…

…

When my eyes opened, I felt woozy. Like I suffered some sort of concussion. How did I get hit by a car and survive? I must have been lucky. Groaning, I tired to stand up.

I stopped. The whole area around me looked different. The grass and trees were purple, houses had a goth-like appearance, and mailboxes and lawn mowers had a vicious, robot-like face. Flies were buzzing here and there, making me swat at them in annoyance. They must have thought I was dead. In the distance, crows cawed while circling around something behind a house. Curiously, I moved closer… and what I saw what it was, I was glad my stomach was empty.

The crows were circling a human carcass, a man whose chest was torn open and insides sprawled out. His face was expressionless, his eyes filled with pure horror. Two bald people wearing suits were crouching down, their heads bent over. I heard munching sounds, like bones being crunched and flesh being torn. _My God…_ I realized. They were _eating_ him!

I slowly backed away, one hand over my mouth. What the heck was happening here? A loud _snap_ came into earshot, indicating I had stepped on a stick. The two people stopped their feast and turned around. Their skin was a light gray, their mouths were red from their meal, their clothes were torn and ragged and- _ugh-_ parts of their skin were gone, exposing flesh and bone. They approached in a stumbling manner, producing low groans and moans from their throats. Occasionally, the word "brains" would come out. They extended their rotting arms towards me.

"No, no, no! Stay back! Stay back!" I warned them, desperately trying to find a weapon. Spotting a pistol lying in the grass, I snatched it and pointed it at the people's chests, my hands shaky. "Don't make me shoot you!" I shouted at them. They did not stop. Without hesitating, I pulled the trigger.

The bullet hit the first one's heart, but to my shock, he did not go down. Instead, he acted like the shot never even happened. "I-I'm warning you!" I yelled, only to receive another "brains" from him. I fired again, this time aiming for the head. The shot rang out, and the first person collapsed, blood trickling down his forehead. The second one went down too as the next bullet penetrated his skull, falling on top of his partner. Quickly checking my gun's ammo, I saw that I was out. I would have to find more.

Questions flowed through my head as I explored the transformed town. It was empty, abandoned cars lying on the streets, skeletons every two blocks, and TV monitors on telephone poles that had a guy in a white lab coat and a large brain broadcasting something illegible. Telephone poles and road signs had been ripped out of the ground by something, along with the entire frontside of a house. I tried knocking on doors of the houses, but no one came. Two minutes into my exploration, a mailbox's eyes glowed red. It dropped its newspaper from the "mouth" and an alarm blared from it. Odd. What kind of mailbox would have an alar…

WHACK! Something struck the back of my head, making me see black.


	2. Rescue

I woke up to find myself being dragged. It was more of those gray people, except they weren't moving in to devour me. These people were dressed in combat gear and rifles, some of them looking like they shot lasers. They all had some sort of jetpack on them. Was this a more intelligent kind? Two of them were holding me by the arms, like I was being held prisoner. One of them was talking through a radio, his voice being a series of undecipherable chatter. There were a few pauses often, and when he ended the message, he turned and pointed his rifle at me, as if he had received orders from the person on the other end of the radio.

And those orders were to kill me.

The rifle began to glow purple, as if charging up. I closed my eyes, not wanting to live in this hellish world. A loud _shunk_ went through my ears, and I opened my eyes to see a machete blade through my executioners' chest. The blade yanked out, and the soldier collapsed.

 _But his head wasn't damaged._ I thought. That was the least of what happened, though. Behind the soldier stood a young woman with red hair, a blue shirt and warrior face paint beneath the eyes. She looked about 19. Her machete was covered in fresh blood and a pistol has holstered near her hip.

Upon seeing their teammate go down, the other soldiers snapped into action, rifles firing like crazy. Yellow pellet-like balls flew alongside purple lasers. The young woman somersaulted the projectiles as the soldiers advanced, yelling to each other. She slashed at one's neck, decapitating him while drawing her pistol and shooting another in the head. Another tried hitting her with the butt of his rifle, but she grabbed it, threw it away and chopped his head. The last one tried to call for backup, only to receive a bullet through the radio and one to the head. When she was done, she walked over to me and held out a hand. "Get up." She ordered. "You're coming with me."

The young woman escorted me through the town, keeping a watchful eye on me. She looked like she would shoot me on the spot if I did something stupid. Not that I would, anyway, because she looked like someone you don't want to meet in a dark alley. "I got some questions for you." she announced, keeping her stern glance on me. "First, I'd like to know your name. Second, just what were you thinking about wandering in a zombie town like that? Sooner or later, you were gonna be a rotten corpse like them."

This got me confused. "Zombies? You mean those things that rise from the graves and feed on the living?" The woman paused, giving me an "Are you insane?" stare. "Where have you been the past eight years?" she muttered. "Eight years?! I've been knocked out for eight years?" I responded in shock. I instantly realized she would want info, so I quickly launched into explanation mode.

"Sorry. All I remember is that I was walking through the city when I heard a scream. When I went to investigate, I heard someone say 'brains' or something like that. Next thing I know, a car slammed into me at full speed, the driver was probably panicked. I'm lucky to be alive… Oh, and my name is Sam."

We approached the gates, where an armored, battle-ready pickup truck rested. "Name's Patrice." The woman said. "Patrice Blazing. I was eleven when this whole thing started. On May 5, 2009, the dead rose from their slumber and began eating the brains of mankind. Survivors like me call it Z-Day." As we reached the truck, I hopped into the back while she got into the passenger seat. "But I'll let my partner here fill you in on the rest." She said something else to the driver. "Fire her up, Nate."

It was hard taking this whole thing in. A zombie apocalypse. Billions of people lost in just a few days. This guy called Crazy Dave and his army of sentient plants. Dr. Zomboss and his undead troops, experiments making them more intelligent. A war happening between both sides, with the zombies being victorious and taking over all of Suburbia. Now, survivors and plants were on the attack, willing to take back their home. And it looked like I was one of the new recruits.

And Nate, the truck driver, was right about one thing. The world had changed. Where there was once laughing children in a playground, there was now an abandoned play area. Average everyday citizens were now lifeless corpses and skeletons or the walking dead. Empty cars lay alongside streets, never to be driven again. Storm clouds with purple lightning loomed over the horizon, with Patrice indicating that the zombies had gained new ground. Overturned trash cans, broken windows, dented road signs… it seemed like nothing familiar was left, that the world was completely engulfed by the post-apocalyptic landscape.

But there was still something. We drove close to a place that was surrounded by barricades and gates, with signs reading "NO ZOMBIES ALLOWED", "RESIST DECAY! GROW TODAY!" and "WEED SHALL OVERCOME!" on them. Beyond them was a house with a tree growing underneath it. Green flags with leaves on them rested in various spots. And I could hear voices… human voices, past the gates.

Well, nice to know there's more.

The pickup truck pulled in through the gates, and some survivors turned in our direction, most of them noticing me. As Nate clambers out, he smirks at me. "Welcome home, rook." He announced to me. "I think you're going to like it here, at our main base of operations." Observing the area, I noticed some of those sentient plants running around, using roots or leaves for feet. There were green ones, plants resembling sunflowers, some who looked carnivorous (gulp), walking cacti, floating roses with wands, corn-like plants and oranges that could roll around.

I wanted to look around some more, but someone thrusts an assault rifle into my hands. "Gear up, kid." He barks. "You've got a lot of dead people to shove back underground." I realized he meant I was going to kill more of those things. Well, I gotta start somewhere, right?


	3. Z-Tech Factory Attack

Gray clouds flew over the dead land below. Sometimes the sun never even showed. All that remained of civilization were ruins, with decaying skyscrapers and abandoned, looted houses. I asked Nate how many humans survived the apocalyptic scenario. He only answered that 4 billion lives fell to the undead threat. What remained formed into a military force I was now part of. The last remnants of mankind, along with Crazy Dave's sentient plant army, were the only thing standing between Dr. Zomboss' horde of zombie super-soldiers and the world.

Or at least what was left of it.

Our newest mission was this: besides taking down Zomboss and his army for good, we also had to strengthen our numbers. And that meant keeping other survivors alive and recruiting them into our ranks.

We had just gotten word from an intercepted transmission that a bunch of survivors were being held at some sort of factory that made weapons and other war machines, like the hulking Zombots: humongous robots that stomped around an area, scanning for anything it can blast to cinders with a laser or a fireball in its mouth. If we attacked that factory, we could not only rescue the survivors, but also halt enemy production lines. Not bad for my first mission.

Phase one: infiltration. The day before the attack, we had hijacked a purple transport truck with the phrase "Z-Tech" written on the doors. We killed the driver (who knew Zomboss had made zombies smart enough to drive?) but kept him around to fool the guards at the factory.

Phase two: attack. If our cover was blown, soldiers and plants stowing away in the back would pop out, bullets and peas and everything else flying, with air support coming in for reinforcements.

Phase three: rescue. Once the area was secure, we would disable laser gates to free the prisoners, along with placing explosive charges around the facility to make sure we wouldn't see any new things wanting to kill us.

The truck drove along a path to the Z-Tech factory with me, a squad of soldiers and plants in the dark cabin of the truck. I couldn't see much since the only light came from a few Sunflowers, but I heard some Chompers making hungry noises and licking their lips. Someone let out a sound of disgust as one of them drooled on him. "Ugh, nasty." A bunch of Gatling Peas were stern-faced, not making a single sound but impatient for grey, shuffling targets to gun down.

Like the rest of the humans with me, I wore a combat helmet, a tactical vest and boots. An AK-47 rested in my hands with an automatic pistol holstered on my upper leg. I could tell by the faces of everyone else that they were anxious to get moving.

The truck suddenly halted, indicating we had reached our destination. The person who had "driven" the truck with a hockey stick on the gas pedal, some sort of weird contraption to move the steering wheel and a bat on the brake, quickly scuffled around to hide behind the driver's seat. Then there was silence. What felt like hours passed before one of the soldier zombies outside gave out a sound of surprise before shouting to his comrades, realizing the zombie in the driver's seat was dead (again). The truck suddenly rocked with the force of laser blasts pounding it.

Someone to my left pressed a detonator, causing the C4 under the truck to explode, rocking the vehicle violently and taking out every zombie near it. Instantly, the back of the truck opened and everyone stormed out yelling.

Upon hitting the ground, I hugged the truck for cover as purple flashes zipped past me and smacked the dirt. A Gatling Pea hopped on top and fired away, its peas mowing down their targets. I poked out of cover and pulled the trigger, a stream of bullets nailing three fleeing Engineers. Red alarms started flashing and the words "SOMETHING PRETTY BAD IS HAPPENING" scrolled across the screens. The base was on high alert now.

Our support helicopters flew over the factory's walls, unleashing their missile payloads. Winged Snapdragons zoomed after them, blasting buildings and turning them into fiery debris as they flew overhead. One Snapdragon shrieked in pain and fell to the ground as a Zombot laser turret blasted it in the chest. The other turrets were focused on more trucks, trying to make sure none of our other forces reached the inside of the perimeter. One turret fired at a windshield and killed the driver while a missile turret struck another truck, overturning it.

Three helicopters landed and deployed the troops inside, who leapt out firing their weapons at any of the brain-eating monsters that approached them. Citrons were rolling ahead, striking down roaming Browncoats like they were bowling pins. Sunflowers stayed behind, patching up injured plants with rays of sunlight. Chompers swam underground like sharks, surfacing only to close their jaws around the unsuspecting undead.

Outside the factory, five Cob Cannons serving as plant artillery rolled into position and took aim at a dormant Zombot on the factory line, ready to be activated. On a Gatling Pea's command, they fired, cob missiles screaming towards their target.

I advanced with the rest of my squad with my gun blazing away, lobbing one of the grenades that draped over my shoulder at a storage crate with a few Coneheads near it. It blew, sending zombie limbs flying. **"RRRROOOOOAAAAAGGGGGHHH!"** a Buckethead snarled, lashing for me. Instinctively, I lifted my now-empty rifle to block it and hold it back. The creature groaned and roared again, its yellow teeth gnashing and its pale eyes staring deep into my soul, desperately craving gray matter.

The corn missiles from the Cob Cannons streaked overhead, exploding once they struck the Zombot's torso, arms, neck and head. A few also hit the support structure holding it up, causing the massive machine to give out a metallic screech and lean forward. A bellowing Gargantuar was smashing humans and Peashooters left and right, stopping only to notice the collapsing Zombot. Every human and plant close by began running, not wanting to get crushed. A few Soldiers, Scientists and Engineers also fled, but those less intelligent, like the Gargantuar weren't so lucky.

KRADOOM! The Zombot crashed to the ground, kicking up dust and flattening the Gargantuar, six Browncoats, two Soldiers with laser rifles, five Gatling Peas, a Sunflower and any other zombie or plant that failed to escape. I had also shoved the Buckethead attacking me into the Zombot's path before running off and hitting the ground rolling.

Coughing from all the dust, I stood up and surveyed the smoking wreck. I was close to the neck area, which was sparking and had some exposed wiring. One of the eyes was cracked and its few remaining online systems quickly shut down due to the damage. I brushed myself off and looked around. Cheers rang out everywhere, indicating we had won. And winning wasn't easy in these times.

The factory was completely obliterated, with monitors broken and various buildings reduced to burning rubble. Purple laser gates remained functional, but not for long. I rushed over to my squad just as the gates were shut off and the prisoners whooped in joy.

"Hey, Sam!" someone shouted, catching my attention. It was Nate with Patrice and a few other survivors. "Nice job out there. Those who are dead are supposed to stay dead, and you showed them that. Besides, we need all the help we can to defeat Zomboss for good." I chuckled while reloading my rifle. "Yeah, well, he can scratch one factory off the map. There's more like it, right?" Nate nodded in response. "But like the saying goes, one battle doesn't win a war. Now help whoever you can into the trucks, then get in one of the choppers. I'll wait up for you back at base."

"Yes sir." After Nate turned and headed back towards the trucks, I looked at the prisoners being loaded up into the vehicles. Among them were people I didn't even expect to survive this far.

Children. Scared children huddling close to their parents, with little to no idea about the dead world around them. Seeing them gave me hope. Hope that humanity would live on.

Seeing them also reminded of something Patrice told me during my first day at the base. Her hometown, Neighborville, a little town just miles away from the city of Suburbia, was a calm and peaceful place. A place left untouched by the apocalyptic world. The only region Zomboss had not claimed for himself. The last remnant of human civilization. If that place fell, all hope he had would fall with it. We _had_ to protect it if we wanted to survive.

And that was what we were going to do.


End file.
